Governor will sign Speedway tax-rebate bill

The bill would let the Speedway and other stadiums compete for up to $3 million a year in sales tax incentives.

By Andrew Gantandrew.gant@news-jrnl.com

TALLAHASSEE — A two-year lobbying push for millions of dollars in state sales-tax incentives for Daytona International Speedway ended Friday as the Florida Legislature approved a bill that would allow pro sports stadiums to apply for the money.The final version appeared to make the Speedway eligible for more money ($3 million) than it originally sought ($2 million) each year for 30 years. And because the Speedway’s “Daytona Rising” project is already under construction, it will be eligible for funding sooner and without another vote from the full Legislature.“Today’s decision by the Florida Legislature makes evident that the state recognizes the tremendous value that Daytona Rising has and continues to deliver to our area,” International Speedway Corp. Lesa France Kennedy said after the vote. “If signed, the legislation will set the framework to potentially provide additional capital for the project, allowing us to build upon the already massive economic benefits being generated in the region — from thousands of new jobs to millions of dollars in new tax revenues.”The bill, HB 7095, passed by a vote of 89-27 after a debate on the last afternoon of this year’s lawmaking session. The Senate had passed the same bill about two hours earlier, 35-3. The bill now goes to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk. A spokesman for the governor’s office said Friday night he “looks forward to signing” it.Under its language, pro sports stadiums will be able to apply for state sales-tax revenues based on a competitive application process that ranks their economic impacts.“We’re happy because it positions our community to fairly compete with those larger communities — Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville,” state Rep. David Santiago, R-Deltona, said after the vote. “It levels the playing field.”Rep. Dave Hood, R-Daytona Beach Shores, agreed it was a win for the Speedway, which he called “the one thing that brings new money into the state” — in contrast to baseball, basketball and football stadiums that he said attract mainly local fans.House sponsor, Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, said the bill would give “peace of mind” to lawmakers who’d wearied of sports moguls coming to Tallahassee every year in search of handouts.“This issue was not going to just go away quietly,” Patronis said in the floor debate. “So we as a legislative body filed a bill that said: ‘Stop. I don’t want another bill filed until you go to the state’s economic arm and get vetted.’”The Speedway is in the midst of a $400 million renovation and has been pursuing a 30-year, $2-million-per-year share of state sales-tax incentives since last legislative session. The bill passed Friday allows projects of $200 million or more to apply for up to $3 million a year.“Last year, we saw the frustration to the last minute with CEOs coming in, running to the speaker’s office, running to the Senate president’s office, and at the end of the day, getting nothing,” said Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee.This year, they were happier.“We are proud of our efforts with Daytona Rising, and are especially grateful to all our local community supporters who rallied on our behalf to help keep these dollars in our community and region,” Kennedy added in her statement. “We’re also grateful to the leaders in Tallahassee for their willingness to create a means by which to partner with us to build a better economic future together.”Speedway President Joie Chitwood said: “The Florida Legislature sent a clear message in favor of prudent economic growth today by setting up an equitable process for sports stadium projects to compete for funds that generate a return for our communities.”Under the bill, the state’s annual payout can only amount to 75 percent of the new sales-tax revenue generated by the stadium project. The bill also caps the state’s total annual payments at $13 million.But projects already underway — like the Speedway and a Major League Soccer stadium in Orlando — are eligible to share $6 million in available funding in 2015 without requiring the full Legislature’s approval. Only the joint Legislative Budget Commission will have to sign off on that money.“This bill is really two years’ worth of progress, two years’ worth of process and two years’ worth of studying it,” Patronis said. “We’re fixing an idea that was going to be a source of frustration for future legislatures.”Lawmakers have stressed that to justify the incentives, the money must be new revenue that wouldn’t exist without the stadium’s investment. The “new revenue” can include taxes collected within 1,000 feet of a stadium.The bill had been temporarily postponed a day earlier in the Senate after Senate President Don Gaetz said House members were sending “mixed signals” about the language.So an amendment approved Friday in the Senate added clawback provisions that would require the stadium to pay back the difference, plus a 5 percent penalty, at the end of the deal if the state’s payouts exceeded the new sales-tax revenue generated.The bill faced some resistance in the House, where Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, said: “If we pass this, 2015 will be the first annual tax-break Olympics.” He added: “If you attend the tax-break Olympics, do not bring an economist” — arguing the state’s ranking process won’t actually vet projects thoroughly enough.The speed-up provision also drew criticism. “This summer, the (budget commission) will meet, and they’ll commit $6 million over 30 years,” said Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami. “That’s $180 million that you’re giving away to for-profit, billion-dollar businesses.”The bill also included a recently added provision preventing Major League Baseball stadiums from receiving funding until the league addresses its policy on Cuban players.Each of the Volusia-Flagler area’s lawmakers voted in favor of the bill.A separate proposal from Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, that gave direct incentive money to the Speedway was removed from a package of tax-cut legislation Thursday.— The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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